Safeguard Send for Microsoft 365 – Force Users to Confirm Each Email Address

Safeguard Send for Microsoft 365 lets you review recipients and attachments before sending emails.  But now, it has a new feature to force users to confirm each recipient and/or attachment before the user is allowed to send the email:

Click to see it in action

Notice how the Yes button is disabled.  After the user checks the two recipients and the attachment checkboxes, then the Yes button becomes enabled, and the user can then send the email.

This feature analogous to legal agreements where you have to scroll all the way down in order to be able to continue, and has several important advantages:

Reduces the risk of sending emails to the wrong recipients: The ability to force users to click on each recipient and/or attachment helps to reduce the risk of sending emails to the wrong recipients by prompting the user to confirm each recipient and/or attachment before sending an email. This way, the user can double-check and verify that they are sending the email to the intended recipients and that they are not including any unwanted or unnecessary attachments. This feature can help to prevent human errors or oversights that could result in sending emails to the wrong recipients, such as typos, autofill, or mis-clicks.

Promotes accountability: This new feature that makes you verify recipients and attachments before sending helps to promote accountability by requiring the user to confirm each recipient and/or attachment before sending an email. This way, the user has to take extra care and attention before sending an email and cannot claim ignorance or negligence if they send an email to the wrong recipients or with the wrong attachments. This feature can help to foster a sense of professionalism and responsibility among the users, who have to be more mindful and deliberate about their email communications.

Provides an added layer of protection: The feature helps to provide an added layer of protection by prompting the user to confirm each recipient and/or attachment before sending an email. This way, the user can avoid unauthorized disclosure or exposure of sensitive or confidential information, such as personal data, trade secrets, financial records, or legal documents. This feature can help to prevent security breaches or data leaks that could have legal, financial or ethical implications for the organization or the sender, such as lawsuits, fines, penalties, or reputational damage.

Customizable security policies: This feature helps to customize security policies by allowing admins to enable or disable this feature for specific rules or users. This way, the admin can tailor the email security policies to the specific needs and requirements of the organization or even the user, who can (optionally) decide when and how this feature should be applied. For example, the user can enable this feature for all emails with external recipients or attachments larger than a certain size or disable this feature for internal emails or trusted contacts.

Increases user awareness: This feature helps to increase user awareness by reminding the user to confirm each recipient and/or attachment before sending an email. This way, the user can learn and adopt security best practices and become more aware of the potential risks and consequences of sending emails to the wrong recipients or with the wrong attachments. This feature can help to promote a culture of security within the organization, which can ultimately lead to a more secure and protected environment for sensitive information.

The ability to confirm each person and attachment being sent helps organizations communicate to their users that they are sending emails on behalf of their company and that they should exercise caution when emailing customers and clients. This is especially important when dealing with legal, financial or other sensitive documents.